Cup dispensing device



s. N. HOPE CUP DISPENSING DEVICE Oct 13, 1942.

Filed May 15, 1939 IlIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIII FIG.5 42

.11 Z3 Z5 Z4- Z6 FIG. 8

27 27 Z 23 7 INVENTOR SAMUEL HOPE i AM WgESSES Patented Oct.- 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CUP DISPEN SING. DEVICE ,Samuel N. Hope, 'Wauwatosa, Wis., assignor' to. Grifllt-h-Hopefiompany, West Allis,'Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application May 15, 1939, Serial No. 273,628

, 1 Claim. (01. 312-44) This invention relates to devicesfor dispensin'g paper cups and other articles.

An object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device having an improvedbut simplified formpf resilientfeeding means for'urging nested paper 'cups'or other articles to dispensing position, the feeding means exerting an approximately uniform feeding'pressure regardless of the number of articles in the device.

.Another object is to provide azdispensingfldevice which iscapable vfo'f economical manufacture.

The invention further consists inthe several features hereinafter described and claimed;

'Intheiaccompanying drawing, wherein the inventioniis shown .to be embodied in 'a cup dispensin'g device ofthe horizontal type:v

Fig. 1 isa side elevation'of the'dispensing, device," showing a "cupprojecting."therefrom dispensingposition; i

Fig. 2 isjia front elevationofthe device; 7

Fig.3 isartoprplanview;

Fig; 4 is a "sectional elevation taken along the line 4-4 .'of Fig. 2, the 'foremost'cup being 'partiallywithdrawn;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional elevation, taken generally along the line 5--5 of Fig. 1, the cups being omitted;

Fig. 6 is a detail top plan View of a cup follower;

Fig. '7 is a detail sectional view taken generally mounted in the casing, and the foremost cup being partially withdrawn, and

Fig. 8 is a detail view of a cup-retaining 'dog and a cooperating portion of the casing, the latter being shown in section.

In the drawing, l designates a tubular casing which comprises a cylindrical sheet metal shell ll of c-shaped cross-section bridged by a longitudinally extending outwardly flanged sheet metal channel member l2, and closed at its rear end by a flanged sheet metal end plate l3, the channel member and end plate being rigidly secured to the shell, as by spot welding. At its front end the casing is provided with a sheet metal extension collar l4 spot welded to the shell and channel member. The casing is suitably supported, preferably in horizontal position with the channel member uppermost. A flanged wedge plate I is rigidly secured to the channel member and is wedgingly engageable in a mounting bracket l6 secured to the underside of a horizontal support H, such as a soda fountain counter, the casing being drawn forwardly to a wedging position.

generally along the line 1--1 of Fig. 5-, showing cups.

The casing'is adapted to house therein a succession of articles, which in the present instance are shownto be in the form of paper'cups l8 arranged in nested relation and having beaded or outwardly'fianged'rims 19,.the closed end or bottom' of the foremostcup projecting from the casing, and the beaded rims .of the cups fitting loosely in the cylindrical shell H.

The cups are releasably retained in thecasing by suitable means'suchfas a plurality of springpressed dogs 20 mounted in the shell I I, four peripherally spaced dogs being shown in the present instance. Each dog consists of an elongated block, preferably of metal, extending longitudinally of the casing and having a pair of longi-' tudinally spaced, pointed teeth or projections 2| and 22 which extend respectively through ajpair of aligned slots 23 and 24 formed in the shell, there being abridge25 between these slots loosely fitting in a notch 26 formed'in the dogbetween the teeth. The dog pivotally bears on the bridge topermit alimited rocking movement ofthe' dog, the opposite ends of the doghaving stop projections 2'] whichare'engagea'ble with the outer'surface of the shell beyond the ends of the slots '23 and 24. The dogs 20 are held in the slots by a coiled tension spring 28 extending about the shell and fitting in central notches 29 formed in the outer edges of the dogs, the ends of the spring being anchored on hooks 30, Fig. 5, struck up from the flanges of the channel member l2. The spring and dogs are housed in an arcuate sheet metal cover 3| of channel cross-section extending about the shell II and secured thereto by rivets 32. The dogs are preferably symmetrical about a central transverse plane, thus facilitating assembly.

A cup-shaped follower 33 slidably fits in the shell I l and has an end wall bearing on the rim portion of the innermost cup. A feeding spring 34 formed by a spirally wound strip or ribbon of resilient material has a portion extending in and along the channel member l2 and is rigidly secured at its front end to the extension collar [4, as by a rivet 35. The spirally wound free end portion of the spring extends into the interior space of the shell and has the convex side of its outer convolution slidably bearing on the inner side of the end wall of the cup-shaped follower 33, the latter having a rectangular notch 36 in its side wall to admit the spring. The spirally coiled feeding spring tends to roll up toward the open front end of the casing and thus urges the follower 33 and the cups [8 toward this end. The flange of the foremost cup, however, engages the teeth 2| of the spring-pressed dogs 20, thus restraining movement of the cups. The dogs 20 form stops for the follower when the last cup is withdrawn.

When a cup is to be dispensed, it is grapsed in the fingers and pulled outwardly, the rim portion of the cup depressing first the rear teeth 2| and then the front teeth 22 of the dogs 20 and cansing the dogs to pivot on the bridges 25, the rear teeth 2| of the dogs being thus urged against the second cup in front of its beaded rim I9 to restrain movement of this cup. Continued out ward movement of the foremost cup causes the a front teeth 22 of the dogs to become further depressed against the action of 'thecoiledspring 28, as seen in Fig. 7, the dogs then pivoting on their rear end portions 21. The rim portion of the foremost cup finally passes over the front teeth 22 of the dogs, permitting removal of the cup from the casing, the following cup being retained in the casing by the rear teeth 2| of the dogs. Succeeding cups are withdrawn in the same manner, the nested cups being urged forwardly by the spirally coiled feeding spring 34. An advantage for this feeding spring is that the feeding pressure on the cups remains approximately uniform whether the casing is full or has only a single remaining ,cup. The feeding spring is further advantageous in that it has a relatively long effective travel, occupies a compara tively small space, is quiet in operation, and is capable of economical manufacture. The portion of the spring extending from the anchorage 35 to the coiled portion is substantially flat and bears on the web of the channel member l2 out of the path of the cups. 7 a

The opposite side walls of the channel member will limit any tendency toward lateral shifting ,of the spring, and these side walls, as well as the opposite parallel edges of the follower notch 36, will limit any tendency toward skewing or tipping of the coiled portion of the spring. The parallel edges of the follower notch form guide surfaces for the coiled portion of the spring.

The feeding movement of the cups is retarded outer convolution of the spring increases in effective radius and this inherently reduces the force of the spring a small amount sufiicient to provide the desired compensation.

To load theicasing, it is only necessary to push a stack of nested cups into the casing, the springpressed rockable dogs 20 being forced outwardly by the rim portions of the cups as the cups pass into the casing, and the feeding spring being uncoiled or unwound as its free end portion is pushed rearwardly. s

It will be obvious that the feeding spring can be used in other types of dispensers, such as napkin dispensers.

The dispensing means including the yieldably mounted cup-retaining dogs forms the subjectmatter of my copending application Serial No. 308,418, filed December 9, 1939.

What I claim as new and Letters Patent is:

In a dispensing device, a support adapted to.

hold a succession of articles to be dispensed and having a channel extending therealong and including opposite walls, and means for urging said articles toward dispensing position comprising an elongated spring member normally urged by its resiliency to a spirally coiled condition and secured at its outer end to said support, the coiled portion of said spring member tending to roll up.

toward the secured end of the spring member for feeding said articles, and the unwound portion of said spring member extending in said channel, the opposite walls of said channel being adapted to laterally confine said spring. a

SAMUEL N. HOPE.

desire to secure by 

